Restaurants & Bars
Park Slope Bagel Shop 'Pays It Forward' During Coronavirus
"Their face just lights up," said La Bagel Delight owner about Brooklyn Methodist Hospital workers learning donors paid for their meals.
PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Weary Brooklyn Methodist Hospital workers trudge into La Bagel Delight after long days battling the new coronavirus, their faces long with exhaustion.
But lately something has lifted their spirits and filled them with, well, delight — a meal paid for by grateful strangers.
"Their face just lights up," said Mike Vasquez, who co-owns the Park Slope bagel shop across from the Seventh Avenue hospital.
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Donations keep replenishing a La Bagel Delight gift card paying for Methodist Hospital workers' meals. The "Pay It Forward" campaign has spread word-of-mouth and online, including in a Patch Neighbor Post, which neatly summed up the scene.
"As we all know they are working shift after shift and are overwhelmed and exhausted," wrote Yvonne Girela. "When they place their order, they are informed that the community has paid for their food and drinks."
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That's where the delight and brightening faces come in, said Vasquez. He has seen it firsthand day after day.
And times are tough for Methodist Hospital workers. They work long days and often are separated from their families for fear of spreading the coronavirus.
Vasquez and La Bagel staff keep the gift card open for donations and for hospital staff to use. The shop's phone rings with donors giving $20, $100 or just whatever they can give, he said.
His aunt, who lives far out of town, even sent in a $25 check to go toward the card, he said.
La Bagel tries to limit its use to $10 per purchase to help spread the charity around, Vasquez said.
"It's like an elevator, it's up and down," he said.
People can donate by calling 718-768-6107, showing up in person or — like Vasquez's aunt — sending money through the mail.
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